Episcopal Actors' Guild

For nearly one hundred years, EAG has been helping to bridge the inevitable gaps that happen in performing arts careers so these artists can keep working in the career of their choice. We know that artistic careers are "real" jobs and we provide a toolkit so that NYC's performers can have longevity in their industry.

Our clients are professional performers (actors, singers, and dancers) who have an established and ongoing theatrical career of at least 5 consecutive years. (For performing artists who have retired or gone on disability, we consider the active portion of their career.) To qualify for assistance, an individual must live in one of the five boroughs of New York City or in the surrounding metro area.

We help people regardless of religion, race, national origin/ethnicity, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, age, physical/mental ability, political ideology/affiliations, or language.

Our primary program is the EMERGENCY AID & RELIEF PROGRAM (EARP) which provides emergency financial assistance and counseling to performers, helping to address such crucial issues as eviction, housing court stipulations, utility shutoffs, emergency medical/dental costs, and sustenance needs.

Through our ACTORS PANTRY (est. 2014), clients can select nutritious food staples to help them weather their crisis. People can choose which foods they want as well as how much they receive and how often they receive it.

EAG was an early responder to the HIV/AIDS crisis. In 1998, we strengthened our support of this community by establishing our HIV/AIDS PROGRAM. Currently, 20% of our EARP budget is earmarked for those clients living with HIV/AIDS, who require unique, ongoing help, ensuring that these applicants do not have to compete with other clients for access to our limited resources. In 2017, our board voted unanimously to raise the maximum annual grant for our HIV/AIDS, senior, and disabled clients from $750 to $1000. 15% of our overall clientele are living with HIV/AIDS. 14% of our overall clientele are seniors age 65+.

Through our CHILDREN'S HOLIDAY FUND, the EARP provides 50 supplementary $150 grants annually to the young children of our clients who are experiencing a crisis during the holiday season.

We also work to help our clients to achieve their career goals. In 2012, we introduced the HEADSHOT PROJECT, providing free, professional photographs to clients who otherwise could not afford them. In 2015, we started ARTIST AFTERNOONS, a free monthly career development and self-care seminar series. In 2017, we established the OPEN STAGE grant, providing 2 emerging theatre companies with 6-week space grants in our facilities for rehearsal and performance.

All three team members (Executive Director Karen Lehman Foster, Assistant Director Rebecca Lovett, and Office Manager Jamie Soltis) have backgrounds in both arts non-profits and performance and continue to develop their skills via seminars. Because we are a small organization, we are easily accessible and personally responsive to NYC's performing arts community.

EAG is governed by a Council of 36 men and women from different areas of the performing arts community. This group meets 5 times a year to provide oversight on our finances, major programs, fundraising efforts, and budgeting. Between meetings, EAG has a very active committee structure. Our 4 person Grants Committee provides oversight to our primary program, the Emergency Aid & Relief Program. This committee regularly meets with the Executive Director to review the details of every grant disbursed. They are also available via email outside of meetings to provide advice. Our Treasurer and Finance Committee regularly meet and review the unaudited financial report provided by staff monthly.

EAG also has a membership base (687 people) that supports our mission through individual giving, volunteering, and spreading the word about EAG. Membership starts at only $30 per year and is open to anyone interested in celebrating the talent and dedication needed to sustain a career in the performing arts.

For nearly 100 years, the Church of the Transfiguration (aka The Little Church Around the Corner) has provided our historic theatre/office space to EAG free of charge. (Value: $85,000 annually)

EAG is part of a coalition of performers’ charities that include the Actors Fund, MusiCares, and Musicians Foundation. This coalition meets monthly to provide the maximum amount of assistance to our shared clients. We also are part of a group that receives federal funding through United Way’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). We work with other EFSP agencies such as Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army.

We make fundraising a priority and have received recognition from organizations such as NY State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, United Way NYC, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, The Shubert Organization, Howard Gilman Foundation, Waldman Foundation, and Sermoonjoy Fund.

EAG has been a steady force for good in the performing arts community for over 98 years. We believe we are meeting our criteria for success every day. No qualified professional performer who has asked us for help has ever been turned away.

We work expeditiously and compassionately to ensure that our clients’ needs are being addressed. We pride ourselves on being one of the only agencies committed to providing immediate emergency financial assistance. We provide the client with a vendorized check on the same day they apply and advise them on additional assistance for which they can apply.

In March 2020, by necessity, we shifted all of our programs and services and fundraising efforts online. Our staff of three has been working around the clock from home offices since then, to make sure that NYC’s performing arts community continues to receive the same fast, responsive, and compassionate help that they are used to getting from EAG.

In our most recently completed fiscal year (April 1, 2020-March 31, 2021), we gave 321 grants to performers and their families. We gave 122 grants for rental arrears. We helped 92 people with utility arrears. We gave 67 grants for sustenance needs such as MetroCards, food, or clothing. And we helped 40 people with medical bills for surgeries, health insurance, and out-of-pocket medical expenses.

In the average year pre-pandemic, we helped approximately 300 people and their families annually with this service. Due to COVID-19 and extended closures of arts and entertainment venues, food insecurity in our client population is at an all-time high. In our last fiscal year, requests for food assistance MORE THAN TRIPLED with EAG providing food to more than 900 performing artists and their families through the Actors Pantry. We have been able to stave off hunger and food insecurity for NYC's performers, especially seniors, people with disabilities, and those with children at home.

We are always listening to our clients and looking for ways to help them achieve their goals.